Physical therapy education is turning into a field “that prioritizes queer ideology over science and patient care,” an exercise scientist stated in a recent op-ed.
The American Physical Therapy Association, which establishes competency standards and educational goals for physical therapy students in doctoral programs, has adopted the “diversity, equity, and inclusion” philosophy, James Nuzzo stated in the Reality’s Last Stand article.
He described the integration of DEI and identity politics into health education, clinical care, and policy as “Woke medicine.”
This approach claims that an individual’s health is mostly shaped by societal power imbalances. It suggests that specific social and environmental conditions disproportionately impact people based on their demographic background, resulting in varied health outcomes across groups, he stated.
“The goal of Woke medicine, then, is to raise awareness of these perceived injustices and to improve health outcomes among DEI-designated groups by addressing ‘structural factors’ or the ‘social’ and ‘political determinants’ of health,” Nuzzo stated.
This is evidenced by APTA scholarships, which discriminate against applicants based on race and ethnicity.
Nuzzo also referenced “two papers published last year in the APTA’s flagship journal, Physical Therapy, which focused on the ‘queering’ of the profession.”
In one paper, titled “Queering the Physical Therapy Curriculum,” CEO of the Integrative Pain Science Institute Joe Tatta “outlines resources to ‘develop and implement competency standards in [Doctor of Physical Therapy] programs while providing an overview of LGBTQIA+ health disparities.’”
Nuzzo also stated:
The adoption of queer theory is also why Tatta believes that physical therapy students should learn to “[i]dentify the ways gender, power, privilege, and oppression play out across a range of cultures and human experiences,” and why he recommends that students, educators, and practitioners become political advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community and strive to “eliminate LGBTQIA+ health disparities” by acting on structural and governmental factors that impact health.
Additionally, this framework leads to the flawed practice of “lumping all LGBTQIA+ persons together,” Nuzzo stated.
The author also criticized Tatta’s argument that “physical therapists should be trained to affirm the sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression of LGBTQIA+ patients.”
Nuzzo stated this “falls outside the scope of physical therapy” and “implies that therapists should suspend their independent medical judgments and support ‘any’ intervention that a transgender individual wishes to pursue.”
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Man doing physical therapy; andresr/CanvaPro
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